A Fortuna Police Department officer who arrested three of the four defendants accused of breaking into a Fortuna apartment and discharging a canister of bear spray while searching for stolen pot testified Wednesday that none of the men displayed symptoms of exposure to a chemical agent when he located them on Main Street.

Officer Joshua Phinney was called to the stand on day two of the men's preliminary hearing after Deputy District Attorney Luke Brownfield informed the court that witness Perdeda Cowan, a victim of the home invasion, was running late.

The hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to hold defendants James O'Neil, Wyatt Williamson, Gregory Stephens and Trevor Bohn over for trial. All four men have pleaded not guilty to 11 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit a crime, assault with a caustic chemical, and false imprisonment by violence.

During his testimony, Phinney said he was called at about 10 a.m. on Sept. 19 to assist as backup. While driving to the scene, Phinney said he was contacted by another officer and asked to perform a traffic stop on a white pickup believed to be associated with the home invasion. Phinney said he spotted the pickup driving with expired registration tags on Main Street in Fortuna.

The vehicle was driven and registered to O'Neil, Phinney said, and Williamson and Bohn were passengers.

Phinney said he told the men that they were pulled over due to the expired tags, and on suspicion of being involved in the break-in.

A few minutes later, Phinney said another officer drove by the parked pickup and told Phinney that a victim had positively identified all three men as being involved. Phinney said he was advised to arrest the three men, and a second officer responded to assist.

While asking O'Neil to step out of the vehicle, Phinney said he noticed a leather pistol holster on the floor under the driver's seat. As he was being placed in handcuffs, Phinney said O'Neil told him the gun was used to shoot cows. After arresting all three men and placing them into the backseat of his patrol car, Phinney testified he searched the truck, locating two revolvers under the driver's seat, a cell phone, a small amount of marijuana, a medical marijuana 215 card belonging to O'Neil and cash in a briefcase.

Phinney testified that all three men were cooperative and denied being involved in the incident. O'Neil, Phinney said, told him that the three men had just come from Burger King and were on their way to look at trailers. Burger King wrappers were found in the vehicle, Phinney testified, along with a receipt from Sept. 19. Phinney said he was unable to recall the time on the receipt.

Phinney said the spray would irritate an individual's face, causing it to turn bright red, and described the spray as having a bright orange color.

"Did you notice any symptoms that would indicate Mr. Williamson had been exposed to a chemical agent?" Robinson asked.

"No," Phinney said.

Following the same line of questioning, Phinney confirmed that neither their clothing nor physical appearance indicated that either Bohn or O'Neil had recently come into contact with pepper spray.

"There was no evidence from what I observed," he said.

Following Phinney's testimony, Cowan took to the stand briefly, but her testimony was cut short when Judge Marilyn Miles abruptly left the courthouse during a brief recess.

Miles was escorted out of the courtroom by a staff member. St. Joseph Hospital spokeswoman Leslie Broomall said Miles was treated and released at the hospital. No further details were provided, but Miles is expected back in court this morning.

In her testimony Tuesday, Cowan stated that Williamson and Stephens entered her bedroom and sprayed her directly in the face with the chemical, from a distance of less than five feet. She said the men demanded "their pot" and ultimately sprayed several in the apartment with the bear pepper spray before fleeing. At least two children were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Questions were raised Wednesday by Miles and Stephens' attorney Patrik Griego about whether Cowan understood the implications of her testimony related to a possible burglary that took place two days before the home invasion.

"So despite being told that by voluntarily testifying to this incident -- which may or may not involve a possible burglary that you say you were at -- you are still willing to testify?" Miles asked. "Do you have any confusion about what is happening here?"